Suspicion and Misunderstanding. The decision of the Italian Prime Minister to designate Giancarlo Fini as a member of the Convention on the future of Europe has raised quite a stir. Some believe that it is positive for a Vice Prime Minister of one of the founding countries of the Union to be given the job and that this demonstrates the importance attached to the Convention. They also consider that the President of a political movement that comes from a neo-fascist tradition (Alleanza Nazionale) shows his principled attitude and commitment to participating in the debate on EU reform. Others think the opposite, the political background of Mr Fini is a problem and he is a definite suspect.
The President of the European Commission declared that the fact that the Italian government has decided to send an individual of such high political standing, proves the importance it attaches to Europe. Some commentators have observed that on questions on Europe, Fini was very close to the former Minister of Foreign Affairs Renato Ruggiero and is the most pro-European of Mr Berlusconi's Ministers. MEP Monica Frassoni (an Italian elected in Belgium) believed that the designation of Mr Fini could help a centre-right Italian party reach maturity, in a European sense. On the other hand, some governments could not hide their misgivings and the Socialist President of the EP, Enrique Baron Crespo pointed to the poor "democratic and European" record of Mr Fini. The Acting President of the European Council, the Spanish Prime Minister, José Maria Aznar criticised the fact that the left had accepted the evolution of former Communists to more moderate positions, without any problem, whereas those from the right were welcomed to the democratic fold with suspicion.
I have the impression that this divergence of views hides a misunderstanding that we should dispense with.
What Italians must understand. In Italy, the political class and public must try and understand better what the word "fascist" means to the rest of the world. It means suppression of freedom, dictatorship, a cult of violence, prevarication. There is no longer any direct rapport between the specific events that occurred in Italy from 1920 to the end of the second World War. Fascism also includes Hitler and Franco, the Greek Colonels and all other dark and bloody dictatorships of the last century and which continue in some parts of the world to this very day. The term is not applicable to someone who aspires to participate in a free and civilised world. Historical analyses and references to the exact facts is not enough, any political movement that harbours fascist leanings would be automatically rejected.
What the others must understand. During the Mussolini dictatorship, the Italian people did not lose in one go its traditions, culture and humanism, in the same way that after the fall of Mussolini, not all Italians were transformed into fully-fledged democrats or the heralds of culture and freedom, that in reality was something quite new in the country. The story of Giorgio Perlasca, who risked his life by saving 5,000 Jews in 1943, was on Italian television recently. Perlasca was, however, (it was compulsory) a member of the fascist party. A French writer of Italian descent, Armand Gatti, explained that during the war, after the defeat of the French, he wanted to cross into the unoccupied zone but was spotted by two Italian soldiers at the border. One of them was just about to shoot when the other exclaimed, "Lacialo passare, povero Cristo" "For Christ's sake let him go". The first soldier didn't fire and Gatti was left to tell the tale. In Italian, the term, Christ, is not just a reference to almighty God but to man's suffering. It is not like this that wars are won but it's how the dignity of man is sometimes saved. For a more detailed analysis, read the story of Leonardo Sciascia (in the "Gli zii di Sicilia" volume) on the Italians Mussolini sent to Spain to fight with Franco. The character of Mr Ventura, didn't hesitate shooting Fascist officers who suggested that he shoot prisoners, rather than shooting those suffering in Christ on the other side. He understood the very essence of Fascism.
For Italians, the Fascist regime was an authoritarian political doctrine but one in which many men and women managed to hold onto their culture and traditions, not "thanks to" but "despite" Fascism. This mixture does not travel well. Giancarlo Fini seems to have understood, coming out publicly for freedom, democracy and a united Europe. When he was born, the fascist regime was dead. Let us now allow him to prove his sincerity.
(F. R.)